"That to love is to destroy and to be loved is to be the one destroyed."
~Cassandra Clare
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"I don't believe you."
A pleasant spring breeze whistled past them, her silken locks fluttered in the air. Her silver jhumkas jingled. A whiff of lavender and Vanilla scented fragrance invaded his nostrils creating havoc within. Dev felt his control slipping.
Meera was still held captive between him and the wall, his arms caging her from both end. Her own hand had formed a fist around his Kurta, in a dilemma of its own- to pull him closer or push him away.
Oh, how he longed to hold her close?
Her brows pulled together in consternation as her painted bow-shaped lips formed a pout and her fair cheeks flaring under the afternoon sun. It was truly an endearing sight. But it was always her eyes that pulled him in. Those darkened orbs were the passage to her soul. And right now, they communicated her disoriented thoughts to him.
"Once I poured my heart out to you and you turned away." The hurt was evident in her voice. "Why do you care now?"
"I have always cared," he whispered. "Even when I couldn't show it. Even when you didn't know."
Only he knew that he'd never taken her love for granted. Had always cherished it for what it was, even if at times it had felt more like a curse than a blessing.
His fingers touched her ebony strands that were hiding her from him and curled them around his finger like a ring, his eyes half-closed. He looked like someone caught in a dream, not wanting to wake up.
"Dev."
Dev's vision skimmed through her open hair loosly held together by a single clip to the scruch of her brows and the curl of her lashes, the slender slope of her nose to the tilt of her lips, committing every curve, every dip and every indenture to his memory.
"So beautiful." He caressed the dent her dimples made when she gave him a faint smile.
His resolve nearly broke.
How had he ever thought he could get over Meera? A single look, a searing touch and a longing whisper of his name and he'd come undone. All his efforts to reign his craze had been for naught. For, distance didn't matter when his heart was here.
His knuckles brushing against her Jhumka, when his eyes fell on the red stain on her jaw, marring her golden skin. He almost hissed at the sight. His thumb stroking over the area, watching in satisfaction as the colour faded. It wasn't meant to stay.
